Asm. Shanique Speight

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill 5403 establishes a statewide Domestic Violence Housing Voucher Program within the Department of Community Affairs to help victims secure stable housing. The program provides financial assistance based on local fair market rates, which can be applied toward rent, security deposits, and moving costs, while also offering navigation services to assist applicants. Victims may apply for these vouchers through an online portal, with voucher amounts adjusted according to family size. To fund this initiative, the bill appropriates $5 million from the state General Fund and requires the department to submit annual reports on program usage and expenditures.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill 5401 mandates that all licensed hospitals create mandatory training programs for their employees, in consultation with the state's Advisory Council on Domestic Violence. The bill requires licensed health care providers to receive annual instruction on screening patients for domestic violence, while other hospital staff, including housekeeping and administrative personnel, must be trained in bystander intervention techniques. Specific curriculum topics include recognizing signs of abuse, safety planning for survivors, and addressing racial bias within marginalized communities. Hospitals are required to issue certificates to employees who successfully complete the training, and the Commissioner of Health is tasked with periodically assessing and updating these programs.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill 5398 requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to provide law enforcement agencies with immediate electronic access to the state's domestic violence central registry. This change directly affects police and other law enforcement officers by mandating that they search the registry whenever conducting an investigation or arrest to determine if a subject is bound by a restraining order. The bill also authorizes the Attorney General to create rules necessary to implement these new procedures while maintaining existing confidentiality protections for the records.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill A-5416 creates an Artificial Intelligence Apprenticeship Program within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to coordinate training opportunities in AI technology, data analytics, and automation. The bill also establishes a tax credit for employers who hire qualified apprentices in these fields, allowing them to claim half of the wages paid to each apprentice, capped at $5,000 per person per year. To qualify, an apprentice must be unskilled or semi-skilled, work for at least 20 calendar weeks during the tax period, and participate in a program that meets state and federal standards for no more than four years.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill 5415 requires the state Board of Nursing to create a formal program that allows approved nursing schools to grant academic credit for nurse scribe coursework. The bill mandates that these courses include specific training in electronic medical records, medical terminology, HIPAA privacy laws, and billing practices, along with hands-on practicum hours where students provide documentation assistance to licensed nurses. By integrating this role into the nursing curriculum, the legislation aims to give students practical experience while helping practicing nurses reduce their administrative workload.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill 5402 establishes an Integrated Domestic Violence Court in every county to consolidate related criminal, civil, and family law cases involving the same household under a single judge. The bill requires each court to assign at least two judges with specialized training in domestic violence, matrimonial, and juvenile law to handle these consolidated matters. It also amends existing statutes to mandate that courts consider patterns of coercive control when issuing restraining orders and prohibits "in-house" restraining orders that allow victims and abusers to share the same residence. Funding for the program is appropriated from the Domestic Violence Victims' Fund, and the Administrative Office of the Courts must submit annual reports on the court's operations and case outcomes to the Governor and Legislature.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill formally establishes the Victim Information and Notification Everyday System (VINE) in state law, ensuring that victims of domestic violence receive automatic updates on the custody status of their abusers. It expands existing notification rules to require alerts when a person subject to a restraining order is charged with a crime, taken into custody, granted pretrial release, violates release conditions, enters or leaves jail, or completes parole supervision. The Attorney General is tasked with maintaining this system and may adopt regulations to implement these changes.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill 5400 establishes a High-Risk Domestic Violence Response Program within the Department of Law and Public Safety, creating rapid-response teams in each county to provide coordinated assistance from law enforcement and social services professionals to victims at elevated risk of serious injury or death. The bill requires the Attorney General to approve a standardized lethality risk assessment tool that officers must use with consenting victims, mandating that they notify individuals of their high-risk status and facilitate immediate service provision if the assessment indicates danger. Additionally, the legislation expands mandatory training for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges to include specific instruction on conducting these risk assessments and understanding domestic violence dynamics, while appropriating $2 million from the state General Fund to reimburse local jurisdictions for implementation costs.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill A5414 increases the civil penalty for domestic violence convictions from a range of $50 to $500 to a new range of $100 to $1,000, with courts retaining the ability to waive these fines in cases of extreme financial hardship. The bill also expands unpaid employment leave for victims of domestic or sexual violence and their close family members from 20 days to 45 days per 12-month period. This leave can be used intermittently for purposes such as seeking medical care, obtaining counseling, engaging in safety planning, or participating in legal proceedings. Employers are required to maintain strict confidentiality regarding the documentation provided by employees to support their leave requests.